ENERGY To Thrive

If there’s one thing women have in common it’s that we are really, *really* good at making ourselves feel crappy. We do this in a variety of ways from people pleasing to trying to be perfect; from catastrophizing to overachieving, or simply isolating ourselves and numbing out because feeling our feelings is simply too scary. It costs us our happiness and holds us back from the things that we want most - health, happiness, and love, not always in that order.  Andrea Owen, life coach and author of “How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t” offers a no BS explanation on why women engage in these often invisible, but certainly damaging habits. With wit, humor and bucket loads of compassion, Andrea and I dive deep into the root causes of how and why we create our own suffering and how to navigate the way out. In this episode we talk about: How spiritually bypassing the crap in your life by resorting to “positive thinking” is just as unhelpful as binging on food to numb the pain The beginning steps you need to take in order to start feeling your feelings (it’s not as hard or as scary as you might think) What a “compassionate witness” is and why everyone needs to have at least one in their life How easy and addictive it can be to run from shame - it’s a natural way to try and protect yourself but that are better ways to deal with that painful emotion The transformative nature of grief and what Andrea had to cope with after her father passed How there’s an “unsexy” side of personal development but yet it’s such an essential part of the self-discovery process http://www.jenniferpowter.com/018/ 

Did you know that 69% of women in a long-term committed relationship (I’m talking about over a year or more with the same partner) will no longer have spontaneous sexual desire? That means about half of all women simply don’t want to have sex.  And that, is not good if you’re wanting to live with energy to thrive as your sexual health is just as important as your physical and emotional health and can be directly connected to both. A woman’s sex drive and libido are impacted by what’s going on in your head and often that stuff is about what’s happened in the past or worrying about what’s going to happen in the future. This can keep you sexless way longer than is healthy. Further, far too many women are letting their own toxic, negative thoughts about their body hold them back in the bedroom. If you’re letting your weight affect your ability to think of yourself as sexy and desirable then you need to listen to this podcast. Join Dr. Keesha Ewers and I as we discuss what it takes for a busy, tapped-out woman to find her libido again and why it’s critically important this doesn’t go ignored (this is one of my most favorite podcast interviews yet). In this episode, we talk about…. How experiencing low libido is actually an indicator that your gas tank is empty for desire..and not just desire for sex, but passion for life in general. This is a critical warning sign you need to pay attention to. Using sex as a way to hold power in your relationship. Is it a “give-get” relationship between you and your spouse – you’ll only “give it” if you “get” what you want (i.e. flowers, help around the house, the garbage taken out without asking). What if you ditched that mentality and recognized that letting yourself have good sex is a way to nourish yourself? How to escape the trap of thinking “If he loved me, he’d do these things for me, and if he did these things for me, then I’d want to have sex. But he doesn’t, so I don’t”. Why it’s important to have sex even when you’re not in the mood, in fact, there’s one secret thing you need to do so you can get into the mood. How to redefine and learn new ways to create intimacy in your relationship so that the focus isn’t solely on achieving orgasm (Dr. Keesha has sex everyday, sometimes twice). Men are different than women when it comes to sexual desire (I know…”Duh!”), BUT do you know what the number one critical difference is? Find out by tuning in. Unresolved childhood trauma can impact your ability to lose weight and experience intimacy as an adult. Hidden limiting beliefs you hold about yourself can impact your ability to live the life you fully desire – Dr. Keesha shares what you can do to start the healing process.  http://www.jenniferpowter.com/017/   

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/016/ Living a good life is about so much more than just “being happy”. It’s about having having energy, being confident, feeling joyful, experiencing good health and being emotionally resilient to life’s ups and downs. Yet so many people don’t get to experience this, at least not consistently. Why is that? Join my special guest, Shana Ekedal, and I as we discuss why it is imperative to recognize that our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health is based on our ability to harness the energy of our thoughts and feelings in a constructive way. Sounds simple, but it’s not always so. Especially when it comes to processing the more difficult feelings that we have like anger, frustration, betrayal, resentment, and feeling hurt. The typical pattern of most women is to hold in their “bad” feelings and suppress or numb them with things like: Eating too much Drinking too much Exercising too much Being overcommitted Focusing on others and ignoring oneself Constant distraction (FB, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) These numbing behaviors keep your deepest fears and insecurities circling in your head like sharks waiting to attack. And the attack can be vicious. Change starts with getting real with yourself – you need to identify what you feel, what you think, what you want, and what you believe and move from that point forward. And, it doesn’t have to be hard!! Come on over and listen to this incredible interview.

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/015/ All Taryn Brumfitt wanted to do was support her girlfriends and help them love and accept their bodies so she posted a “before” and “after” pic on Facebook. Except this wasn’t the typical kind of before and after photo – in this one, her before picture was of her looking ripped standing on stage in a bikini during a figure competition. Her after photo was of Taryn sitting naked, carrying much more weight than in her “before” pic, and looking happy. The photo went viral on FB and has since been viewed over 100,000,000 times. Taryn became an overnight media sensation and it prompted her to launch the Global Body Image movement from which the Embrace documentary was created. Naturally, being in the health space I was curious about this movie and knew I needed to see it. It was an emotional experience to view this documentary and to hear the things women say about their bodies – things like they think their bodies are “fat”, “disgusting”, “gross”, “stumpy”, and “below average” to name a few. But then, I’m no stranger to that – I listen to women everyday who tear themselves to pieces and feel like such a failure because they can’t seem to get a handle on their weight no matter what they do. Yet, while watching this documentary I also felt this burning desire to take a stand for what I know IS possible for women and how gaps in knowledge can handcuff us to the old dieting regime of “all or nothing”, “good or bad”, “on the wagon or off the wagon” and how THAT is what makes our life a prison and how the battle with food seems never ending. It simply doesn’t have to be that way! This is my most vulnerable, transparent podcast episode to date – one where I take a strong point of view and go into the science and psychology of weight loss. In this episode I share…. My views on the “love yourself at any size” philosophy and how I believe that can be damaging to women How the dieting industry has come to be a 60 billion dollar industry and how all women are supporting it What the bigger conversation needs to be and discuss why we’re so afraid to have it How it felt to have my husband tell me that my body was less than perfect, and what happened next between us The myth and reality around the idea of “The Perfect Body” How photoshop has been the biggest contributor to the eradication of a woman’s self-confidence and what to do about it

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/014/ Transformation happens when you become willing to go deep and do the emotional work that’s required, but often that’s the scariest place to go. It’s tempting to use food to numb out and stay stuck. But if you stay stuck you also stay miserable…so, although facing your pain can be hard it’s easier than wasting years of your life and so much emotional energy hiding from what you’re truly hungry for in life. Join me and my special guest, Samantha Skelly, founder of Hungry for Happiness, as we dive deep into topics that impact all women – topics like loving the parts of you that you don’t want to put on Facebook, finding the courage to deal with your emotional pain, troubling belief systems that don’t serve you, questioning where you get your worth from and so much more. In this episode you will… Understand how critical it is to begin any kind of health journey with loving yourself (opposed to hating or judging yourself) and how to actually do this Learn how to build up self-trust again by making “micro-decisions” Hear the 3 big lies women tell themselves and what you need to say to yourself instead Hear a real + raw interview between two women who have both overcome their food and body issues

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/013 Your energy is the most important resource you have. It influences how you think and feel as well as what you do and experience. When your energy is low there can be dramatic negative effects in your life from weight gain, to getting sick frequently, to sleeping poorly, and relationships suffering. Let’s face it – living a good life requires energy. Energy to handle the pressures and stress of parenting, working, volunteering, doing things, exercising, shopping – you name it, it requires energy. But many people are putting their energy at risk and don’t even know it (this is totally true for me). Join me and Dr. Anne Marie Fine as we talk about 5 critical things that are affecting everyone’s health and energy level AND what to do about it. So often attention is given to simply trying to eat better and exercise more but what if there were other things you could do to boost your energy and improve your health? In this episode you will… Learn the top 5 things you can change in your environment to improve your health (with awesome recommendations) Hear about an amazing (free) app that has changed my life and my buying habits for the better – it can do the same for you Understand the mind body connection and how western medicine is getting it wrong, and how you can get it right Get clear on what “detoxing” really means Understand how losing weight and decreasing toxins in your body are interconnected Learn how HIIT training can improve your energy at the cellular level *** Please note that we did our best to adjust the audio quality of this interview. Unfortunately, I still sound a little echo-y but this interview was so amazing, and so jam packed full of good info I had to release it. Thanks for understanding. Enjoy! ***

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/012 The reason that weight loss is such a transformative journey is because you can’t escape yourself. You are left alone with your thoughts and everything that you let come into your mind influences how you feel – both physically and emotionally. This often influences how you act and the decisions you make. What’s popular in our culture is to focus on the “exterior” — appearance, weight, skin, cellulite, wrinkles but it’s far less popular to delve into the “inner” stuff, your feelings. Yet your feelings make up so much of who you are and why you do the things that you do. Do you only feel comfortable with “good” feelings – you know, joy, excitement, happiness? What do you do with the harder ones, things like sadness, anger, disappointment, loneliness, resentment? Most women push their feelings down. In fact, this whole episode started by me writing this post and suggesting that feeling your feelings was the *most* important thing you could learn how to do. Otherwise, they stay trapped inside of you, keeping you stuck. Do you push your feelings aside and use your intellect to try and cope with your feelings? You know that doesn’t work. In this episode you will… Realize how important it is to separate your value from your accomplishments Recognize how weight loss is intimately connected to your core suppressed feelings Learn how you’ve picked people in your life to help you grow and heal – even if it feels like they mostly challenge you Be able to understand if and where you are blocked and how to move through that so you can finally feel confident in your ability to succeed with your health goals Understand how detrimental it is to withdraw and isolate yourself, yet so many women do this. This is one of my most personal podcast episodes to date. I’d love it if you could share in the comments what you thought about it.

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/011 If you want to lose weight you have to change the habits, behaviors and old patterns that lead you to becoming overweight in the first place. Most people just try to change their food – that’s not enough. Every woman, in her heart of hearts, knows that the quick fix doesn’t work! You have to be willing to change your lifestyle and the emotional connection you have to food, otherwise your weight loss goal is always going to be something that you chase. Join Lisa Goldberg and I as we discuss several issues, both from a mindset and behavior point of view, that women face when trying to lose weight and get healthier. We share our best tips and strategies from our own personal experience,  of having lost weight and kept it off for years, and from the research. In this episode you will… Hear powerful questions you can ask yourself that can be complete game changers with how you approach your weight loss goals Learn new ways to deal with self-doubt and fear of failure so you finally succeed Get new strategies for how to deal with peer pressure from friends and family to eat and drink Be re-inspired to commit to choosing you and creating the kind of healthy body you want to live in Most people who struggle with weight loss have difficulty in mastering their mindset and the healthy thought processes that are required for long term success. By tuning in you can make sure this is something you can let go of!

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/010/ Have you noticed it? Or maybe you’re a part of it… The norm is for high-functioning, high-capacity, successful women to live life exhausted thinking that how they feel is just “normal”. They exist in a chronically depleted state and then they tell themselves “that’s just the way it is”, “it’s normal”, “that’s how it is when you’re a mom and you’re busy…” or whatever other kind of justification they create in their mind. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I lived life like that for quite some time until I paid attention to my wake-up call. And I know what it’s like to live life on the other side of this. Check in with yourself – do you have an inner knowing that something is off for you? Is it time to uplevel your health and energy levels? Join Dr. Mariza Snyder and I in this engaging interview where we discuss critical issues that are affecting women all over the world. In this episode you will… Be able to self-identify the bad habits you’ve got that are keeping you “wired + tired” Know what Rushing Woman Syndrome is and if you have it Understand why having a solid “health foundation” is critical to both your physical and emotional health (and tips for creating one that works in your life) Get clarity on the addictive nature of praise and how women are getting their worth from their productivity and how to break free from this trap Realize why it is you *know* the things you should be doing to improve your health but don’t do them, and how to change this Learn how essential oils can help your health with zero negative impact (unlike most quick fixes now-a-days)

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/009/ Have you ever felt like it was so unfair that your friends could eat or drink whatever they want and never seem to gain a pound yet you have to watch what you eat like a hawk and yet still seem to gain weight? I hear this all the time from women who are 5’4” and under. Shorter women do have more challenges when it comes to weight loss for many reasons but most fail to recognize that their height puts them at a disadvantage. I had one client, I’ll call her Sally, who found great relief in knowing this because it finally stopped her from feeling like a failure. She had tried so hard to lose weight following all sorts of cookie cutter diet programs but none of them worked. What was more frustrating was some of her friends had had great (temporary) success with a few of these programs and she was at a loss as to why they didn’t work for her. If you’re a woman who’s more on the petite side when it comes to height, this is one episode you’re going to want to listen to – it’s 24 minutes. I’m going to explain exactly what Sally needed to know as a shorter woman to see weight loss happen for her. In this episode, you will… Understand what “metabolism” really means and what truly influences whether or not you have a good one Hear the biggest myth around how to “boost” your metabolism! Learn why being short puts you at a weight loss disadvantage AND how to get on the winning side of the weight loss battle Realize that the food culture we live in also puts women at a disadvantage for weight loss and 3 strategies to deal with that Understand how weight loss is based on body science and if you follow some simple physiological principles you can lose weight AND keep it off forever Learn that being short means you absolutely HAVE to be aware of 3 critical things if you want to lose weight

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/008/ The other week I was teaching a workshop to 25 women who were under 40 years old  (they were new moms) and I asked the question, “Who here feels like their mom taught them how to cook?” Only ONE woman put up her hand!! I was shocked, but not really as it supported the fact that we are now spending more money on take-out and restaurant food than we are on groceries. No wonder we’re in a health crisis! In a study published in the journal BMJ Open, scientists found that nearly 60% of an American’s daily calories come from “ultraprocessed” food,  and only 1% of their calories from vegetables!! This is exactly why Sarica Cernohous and I are talking Simple Food Prep Tips in this podcast episode!! We need to spend time in the kitchen. We need to cook real food. AND, it doesn’t have to be hard or complicated.  In this episode you will… Learn what traditional food prep is – (it’s not as complicated as you might think) Hear the debate around “Ancestral Eating” – crazy or the cure for the health crisis North America is in? Understand how Traditional Chinese Medicine could benefit you Know what you should eat  first thing in the morning (no, it’s not coffee – you can have it, but eat this first!) – this is especially helpful for women Realize how we’re culturally set up to fail and what you need to do to succeed with your health goals

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/007 Chances are you feel busy and like there just isn’t enough time to fit everything into your day. If you’re like most people, the first thing to go is taking care of yourself. I mean sure, you still shower and eat (probably not the healthiest choices), but you probably don’t fit in those other important things like exercise, or having some quiet time to yourself. One of the most important realizations I’ve had in my life came from reading this sentence in a  book (I forget which one!) “If you’ve created this, you can create something different”. I found it empowering because at the time, I didn’t like a few areas of my life and I was feeling stuck, powerless. But that’s never the reality. You see life is created by a series of decisions. When those decisions get repeated they become habits. All of us have good habits and bad habits. But what many of us don’t understand, is how to CHANGE a habit we don’t like, or create a new habit. Join Dave Smith and I as we talk about what it takes to build healthy, sustainable habits so you can live with an abundance of health and good energy! In this episode, you will… Have a strategy to get exercise back in your daily life, even if you hate it. Know what exercise actually is (and what it isn’t) Understand the difference between urgency vs. importance and how these concepts affect your ability to prioritize your health How to deal with your own excuse making behavior PLUS some really cool tips to get you going and feeling your healthiest, best self yet

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/006 It’s been said that sugar is the worst legalized drug of all, that it acts like cocaine or heroin in the brain and that it’s more addictive than both of those drugs. North Americans are consuming sugar like never before - in fact, on average, ~160 lbs of sugar per year are consumed by the average person. That means eating about ½ cup to 1 cup of sugar a day. Shocking, right? You might think that you’re not doing this but you’ll be surprised how easy it is to do. Twizzlers anyone? If you’ve been wanting to lose weight but feel like you’re sugar cravings hold you back, or if you suffer from a lack of energy or are worried about how much sugar your kids are eating this episode is for you. *****Attention: I believe every mom should listen to this episode about sugar***** In this episode you will: Learn the recommended amount of added sugar you can have in a day (as well as your kids) and how to stay within that limit Understand the tricky way that food companies started the war on fat and how the effect of the non-fat, low-fat movement has contributed to our obesity crisis Realize the impact of normal, everyday things on your child’s health (think popsicles, ice cream, orange juice, candy), and your own Finally get the role sugar plays in the prevention of your weight loss efforts Hear the best word you should start saying to yourself and your kids. It’s one syllable - can you guess it?

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/005 There can be many things that you don’t want to see, feel, pay attention to or deal with in your life. They hurt. There’s pain. It feels like too much. Yet those very things - those challenges - can pave the way to a better life IF you’re able to heal and move on. For many people this is where they get stuck- the heartbreak, the trauma, the frustration feels so permanent. When you’re emotionally and physically exhausted, when you feel like you’ve just got nothing left in you, how do you find the energy to keep going and transcend your current circumstances?   It’s powerful questions like these that Dr. Shiroko Sokitch and I discuss as she shares her wisdom and insights on what true healing really requires (and why it is so necessary).   In this episode you will…. Understand the exact steps you need to take in your life, when the world seems bleak, in order to cultivate hope, recover and heal Learn the 2 absolutely essential components of healing and how to move confidently forward in your life … no matter what you’ve had to overcome Discover the power of love, unconditional self-love and how it relates to healing Realize why relying on some coping mechanisms can do far more harm than good - I’m not talking cigarettes or alcohol here, I’m talking about the stuff we all do: being over committed, doing vs. being, relying on intellect instead of emotion

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/004 Feel like you’re going through a mid-life crisis? Is life just hitting hard lately? If you’re in your 40’s or 50’s chances are you’ve been through a few life storms (or maybe you’re smack dab in the middle of one right now) and you may have found that your self care has become non-existent. Maybe you’re carrying extra weight, feel tired all the time, have no energy and constantly feel stressed. I’m sure you don’t want to live like that but don’t know how to get out of the health rut you find yourself in. Hormone changes are making you a crazy woman and the idea of exercise makes you want to go drink a glass of wine...make that another glass of wine! Join Deb Atkinson and I as we bust through some of the most pervasive health myths out there regarding hormones, exercise, weight loss and menopause for women in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond. Tune in! In this episode, you will… Discover how cortisol + insulin are wreaking havoc on your body and how you can change that! Be amazed at how easy it really is to get more fit, create more energy and feel better now than you did when you were 30 Learn the biggest lie women tell themselves and how it keeps them stuck in the yo-yo dieting cycle Amazing hormones that could be totally influencing your fat and where it gets deposited on your body. Finally understand how to close the gap between the things you do and the things you *know* you should be doing to feel healthier This is one conversation you don’t want to miss!

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/003 Do you feel like every Monday you’re starting your diet over again and that no matter how hard you try, you never see the scale budge? Then you’re not alone – in fact, you’re like millions of women who’ve been trying to lose weight for years. In a world where the “move more, eat less” philosophy has become outdated and the “quick fix” or new trendy diet is the sexy desirable thing (because really, who wants to feel crappy any longer than they have to)  women are at a loss for what to do when they *know* what they’re doing isn’t working. It’s time for a new conversation – one that gets to the root of the issue once and for all.  Join me as I share some truth bombs about what’s really going on for women and the real reason they’re failing with their diet (I know because I did the same thing too!). In this episode you will… Learn how changing the story you have of yourself can take you from failing to thriving with your health and weight loss goals Discover how doing one key thing will finally help you feel amazing in your own skin again Hear a fresh way of approaching your life that can change everything for the better Recognize the ways you self-sabotage and finally know what to do about it  

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/002 Do you ever wonder, “Is this it – is this how my life is going to be?” Asking this question is a good thing because it means you’re hungry for something more. It can also mean you’re becoming aware you’ve been living life by a set of rules that no longer serve you and it’s time to create new ones. But change can feel hard. Especially if you’ve tried to create change in your life before and failed. Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, America’s most popular celebrity psychologist, joins us today to talk about how to tune back into your intuition so you can get your life back on track and drop the “all-or-none” thinking that so often goes along with trying to get healthy.  In this episode, you will… Discover how to overcome perfectionism so you can create the life you want Hear new insights on how to control your inner critic so you can finally stop that nasty chatter in your head Learn the difference between conditional vs. unconditional self-worth  and why the ladder is an essential component for weight loss Realize the critical thing you need to do in order to truly empower yourself Learn one simple trick to boost mindfulness that truly works (it’s so simple, but will you do it?)

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/001 Any woman, who has ever tried to lose weight, can agree that weight loss is hard. What’s even harder is keeping the weight off after you’ve lost it and not regain it. Why? Why do so many millions of women struggle with this? Join Melissa Kathryn and I, two weight loss coaches who’ve overcome our own struggles, as we dive deep into the world of what it takes to get truly healthy – emotionally, physically, spiritually. We talk about how to calm the crazy around food and body image as well as share the strategies we used in our own lives to finally feel good in our own skin.  Tune in! In this episode, you will… Learn why the no-diet, diet is the best diet of all Finally understand how to end the destructive cycle of self-sabotage when you’re not even aware you’re in engaging in it Hear the truth about cheat days and intermittent fasting and their impact on your weight loss success Realize how you can you be successful with weight loss even if you’ve tried and failed so many times before Figure out how to you find yourself again, even if you’ve become completely disconnected from yourself  

http://www.jenniferpowter.com/000 It’s time for a new conversation to start on what it takes to truly get healthy from the inside out. I’m tired of the old conversation around health – especially the one around weight loss – where the focus is just on the external. Today the diet industry is worth $64 billion dollars. That is insane. The quick fixes and fad diets that are promoted do far more harm than good and yet in playgrounds, gym change rooms and school parking lots they still get talked about. The search term “quick and easy weight loss” pulls up over 24 million results. Yet I bet if I were to ask any woman on the street if there was a way to lose weight quickly and easily she’d look at me like I was crazy. Because the truth is known, it’s just not talked about.   In a world where women are living busier lives than ever before, self-care has become a non-priority and food & wine have become trusted coping mechanisms for dealing with stress and constantly feeling overwhelmed. This isn’t good. My hope is that this podcast is going to be part of the solution that will inspire healthy change for millions of women around the world.   Please the join the conversation with me!